Document details

Letters Sent On February 8 And March 13, 2018

Here is the story of my time at Walt Disney’s London studio. I joined Walt Disney Mickey Mouse Ltd, based on the 4th floor of 119 Wardour Street, W1. I was interviewed by Eddie Davis for the job of office boy, with the promise that I would go in to the studio as a trainee artist when it reopened after the war. I joined in December 1943. I was 14 years and 9 months old.

My job was post boy, tea maker, and I was in charge of the stock room, with all the Disney merchandise samples from around the world. It was like Aladdin’s cave as you can imagine. Also, I was general dogsbody: Running errands, etc.

Life was pretty routine, except London was a buzz with military personnel from every part of the world. Often as I went up Shaftesbury Avenue on my way to Disney, a jeep full of US airmen still in their flying gear would pile into the American Rainbow servicemen’s club, which was a terrific haunt for all U.S. guys.

One night during an air raid, a bomb dropped opposite Disney and some shrapnel ripped through some of the offices and the stock room. This was a shame as we had some quite large stuffed toys of the Three Little Pigs which were badly damaged and thrown out together with some other nice pieces of merchandise which were broken.

[…]